The present disclosure relates in general to the field of computer network environments, and, more particularly, to a system and method for disk and tape sharing in a multi-computer environment.
Computer networking environments such as Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs) allow for a multitude of users, often at remote locations, to share communication, data, and resources. Computing devices coupled together in LANs and WANs can use any one of a number of conventionally known protocols to communicate, such as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
The demand for data storage capacity in computer networking environments increases dramatically each year. One of the reasons driving such demand is an increase in the number of data-intensive tasks conducted over networking environments. Example of such tasks include multimedia applications, data warehousing, online transaction processing, and medical imaging. Along with this need for increased storage capacity, users demand faster access to the data and the ability to share pooled data among a large number of users. In addition to these demands, many network operators desire the ability to efficiently change the amount of storage available to a network and to more efficiently provide maintenance to existing storage.
A storage area network (SAN) is a network developed to address many of the above concerns. A conventional SAN includes a collection of data storage devices (also known as a xe2x80x9cstorage poolxe2x80x9d) communicatively coupled to a plurality of hosts such as workstations and servers. The storage devices in a SAN can be co-located, which allows for easier maintenance and easier expandability of the storage pool. In the present disclosure, the term xe2x80x9chostxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cserverxe2x80x9d are used interchangeably, with the understanding that a xe2x80x9cserverxe2x80x9d is one type of xe2x80x9chost.xe2x80x9d
The hosts can access the storage pool using Fibre Channel protocol, which functionality is generally well known. The Fibre Channel protocol can serve as a common physical layer to transport multiple upper layer protocols such as SCSI, IP, HIPPI, and others. In such a system, the hosts and the data storage devices are connected to a Fibre Channel xe2x80x9cfabric.xe2x80x9d
As storage available to a computer network increases, the need for adequate backup storage also increases. Often a computer network employs the use of a dedicated backup storage device, such as a Digital Linear Tape (DLT). A DLT is a type of magnetic tape storage device originally developed by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and now marketed by several companies. DLTs operate on cartridges of varying sizes ranging, for example, from 20 to over 40 GB. During backup operations, some or all of the storage devices available to the network transmit all or a portion of stored data to the DLT. Such an operation can flood the computer network with large amounts of data for a large amount of time. Additionally, in order to attempt to decrease the amount of time such an operation can last, many computer networks employ more DLTs than necessary.
In accordance with teachings of the present disclosure, a system and method for disk and tape sharing in a multi-computer environment are disclosed that provide significant advantages over prior developed systems.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a system includes a fabric and a server coupled to the fabric. The server is operable to be coupled to a computer network and receive data from the network. The system further includes a physical storage device coupled to the fabric. The physical storage device is operable to store data received from the network on the physical storage device. The system further includes a bridge coupled to the fabric and a dedicated backup storage device coupled to the bridge. The dedicated backup storage device is operable to store data received from the physical storage device.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure a method includes receiving data from a computer network. The data is stored on a storage area network. The storage area network is coupled to the computer network, and the storage area network has a fabric separate from the computer network. The method further includes performing backup operations for the network by transferring the data through the fabric from the storage area network to a dedicated backup storage device.
It is a technical advantage of the present disclosure that it allows for the consolidation of network storage into a central location. Such consolidation reduces the resources necessary to maintain and upgrade storage available to the computer network.
It is another technical advantage that it substantially reduces the time necessary to perform backup operations. The present invention allows for backup operations to occur without using the network, meaning it increases the efficiency of the network because it substantially reduces the network traffic that accompanies backup operations.
It is an additional technical advantage that it allows for sharing of tape storage, substantially reducing the storage necessary to complete backup operations. This in turn reduces the capital expenditure necessary for creating and maintaining a computer network.
It is a further technical advantage that it allows multiple paths for computers to reach other devices on the network. This, in turn, increases the reliability of the network.
Other technical advantages should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the specification, claims, and drawings.